I recently had the pleasure of attending a seminar sponsored by the City of Raleigh Planning Commission in the series titled Designing a 21st Century City. The topic for this particular seminar was Creating Urban Form: Conventional and Form-Based Codes. As a layperson of the topic of conventional and form-based codes, I found the seminar very informative in that it outlined in great detail the history of planning codes. It demonstrated how suburban living and that design of housing had replaced the urban lifestyle that many cities enjoyed earlier in the 20th century. If you've ever been to Washington, DC or New York City, you probably know what I'm talking about. Retail shops with housing or apartments located above; making it easy to work where you live. An environment where you can walk to the grocery store and have dinner a few blocks from home. A walkable city where you can take your kids to the park or to school within walking distance of your home. This really appeals to me personally and I applaud the City of Raleigh in their planning efforts for the future of our city. If you want more information on what the City of Raleigh has planned for its citizenry, please visit them at www.raleigh-nc.org. To view the presentation on Creating Urban Form, click on the link below.
http://www.raleighnc.gov/portal/server.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_2_306_200_0_43/http%3B/pt03/DIG_Web_Content/category/Business/Strategic_Planning/Urban_Design/Lecture_Series/Cat-1C-20071018-143814-Creating_Urban_Form__Con.html